Day one let's go gang :7

So I had top surgery 4 years ago (I was 18 at the time) Since then I started working through a fuck tonne of trauma that occurred during my childhood through to my teenage years.

About 2 years ago, I started to come to some realisations and wondered if I made the right decision. I started to think maybe it wasn't dysphoria and simply unresolved trauma (I won't get into the details of the trauma). I started questioning my gender identity again (I was non-binary at the time). I now identify differently and I don't mind either they or she pronouns, but especially in the past few months, I have been grieving.

I regret the top surgery, and I'm distraught. I feel as though I'm missing a part of me, and I feel severely distressed. I hate looking at myself in the mirror.

I realise now a reduction would have suited me better, but I didn't even know that was an option!

I've done some research, and i think that a fat transplant would do me well. I dont need absolute knockers, just a small pair that makes me feel more comfortable in my skin.

What I'm wondering :

1) I got top surgery on the NHS. Is the transplant possible to do on the NHS?

2) How will my nipple placement affect a fat transplant. They are uneven and quite high up.

3) Has anyone personally experienced this?

Hello everyone !

It’s been two months since my top surgery and a lot has happened, but everything’s finally sorted. Everything was going well; I was healing nicely. And then BAM! Infection in my left side. One evening, I started feeling really awful. Like I had aching muscles. I had a headache, chills, nausea... I thought maybe I was coming down with something because it’s starting to get cold where I live. I went for a shower to feel better, and I noticed my left side was really swollen. I prayed it was just inflammation, but no, it was definitely an infection 🤯 According to my surgeon, it didn’t come from my scar. But it was surely due to internal weakening caused by my seroma (yes, I had a seroma that lasted about three weeks and didn’t need draining). And after ten days of treatment and two drainages, I’m feeling much better. My chest is slowly recovering. But I must admit it really made me feel like shit mentally.

Anyway, I’m starting silicone tape in a few days. I can’t wait because my scar on the right has widened a bit due to spitting stitches. I massage it every evening and apply moisturiser from time to time.

Despite everything I’ve been through, I have absolutely no regrets. I love my chest, I love getting dressed… lots of things I used to hate. I can’t wait to get back to sport.

How long did it take you to get back to the gym ? Especially after an infection ?

Peace xx

14 days (2 weeks!) post op today, so decided to take some properly photos now for milestones. My left nipple looks considerably different to my right one, just curious to see if people think it still looks okay. 3rd photo is the left nipple (ps: day 5 of doing wet healing with aquaphor)

Haven’t developed as much chest muscles as I hoped to in that time span, but my winter arc has just begun. Let’s see if I’m able to grow the babies back in a gender affirming way lol

Happy!!

Just got out of the hospital and don't know if they forgot to take them off or if I'm supposed to leave them on for some reason?

Edit: I kinda knew the answer before I posted but haven't ever had a surgeon forget to take them off, so I wanted to double triple check before calling the hospital and making a fool of myself lmao

5 weeks PO DI was on a cycling trip with my family and changed my silicone tape only to see this. No pain, just weird…

I'm a bit more than a year post op, and found a lump in my breast thinking nothing much of it because of surgery and thinking it might be just scar tissue it took me way longer than it should have to have it checked out. Turns out its cancer, im still quite young and there is no family history, it can happen to anybody. So please please don't be like me top surgery doesn't mean you can't have breast cancer. There is still breast tissue in your chest just like cis men!

Now the odds are not in my favor because im a dumbass... its still very unlikely but if it can help at least one person to not wait if there is doubt Ill be happy.

Anyways advice/rant at the same time because i dont know what else to do.

I've been searching all over this forum but so far haven't explicitly been able to find any top surgeons in Washington state who offer reinnervation or neurotization techniques! Would really love to get consults with docs in my state before considering out of state. Do you know of any??

Hi everyone - I see a lot of nervous fellows around here and I just want to let you all know it will be A okay. Here’s a run down of how my surgery went: I quit smoking nicotine for the time being (used a non nicotine vape, just because I am not looking to quit just yet - and then let it die out slowly) Got mine done in portland and the teams there are amazing.

Recovery was quite easy, you lay around for however long it takes for the drains to be removed, yes they are annoying and will be the longest week of your life but the relief when you get them out is beyond satisfying. (feels a little funky though, shoutout to my bros those and goes with sensory issues, think of the relief and let it overwhelm you instead of the feeling) After that it was literally smooth sailing, made sure to clean and do as my care team said to do. Now here is where it gets scary, if you have nipple grafts they will literally look so scary but everything is most likely fine, I had partial nipple graft failure and everything still looks bomb. I also slept on my side when I wasn’t supposed to & ended up okay but make sure it’s actually comfortable and I slept kind of at a slant so I wasn’t fully on my side (helped so much having a big plushy that wouldn’t hurt for my side sleepers out there) I did have a problem with the binder, it was digging into my side and ended up splitting open a part of my incision, but all went well and it recovered nicely. Good luck, I don’t regret it, I feel even better as a person now and doing things like working out, running, camping, working feels less embarrassing and more enjoyable!

Hi all, I'm sure folks on here have experienced postponed top surgeries. In my case, I received a call the day before my surgery that they would not be able to move forward because of a detected mass in my chest (long story short, not cancerous, but I now need to get a combined surgery). It's now been two months since I was supposed to get my surgery, and my new tentative surgery date has just been rescheduled once again to late winter as of today. The situation has been properly explained to me, and it makes complete sense, but obviously, I'm just feeling a lot of sadness and honestly fear.

I've struggled to talk with my friends and family about this surgery in general because I live a kind of "stealth"-ish lifestyle. In general, I'm not used to talking about my feelings, and I can tell that this is now eating me up inside even though I'm trying not to let it get to me. If anyone else has gone through something similar, how did you cope with the uncertainty? This situation has essentially screwed up my entire year and my mental health pretty badly.

If there are any free mental health resources or tips anyone can recommend, or even just words of support for a stranger on the internet. I would greatly appreciate it.

Hoje completo 3 meses que fiz a minha tão sonhada mastectomia. Pretendo comprar a fita de silicone pra dar uma clareada na cicatriz. Feita no Brasil pelo SUS. #vivaosus

First pic 1 month out, second pic 3 months out, 3rd pic was a year and 3 months out! In love with my body and happily gaining weight without it triggering my ED! I’ve never felt more at home in my skin 🥰

This is a very detailed walkthrough of all my interactions with Dr Ramineni. I had top surgery a year ago with Ramineni at District Plastic Surgery in DC and am extremely disappointed with my results. I had seen tons of praise for him, very consistent results, and a few disclaimers about his rushed demeanor online.

His office was extremely well managed and the consultation waitlist was quick like some of the other surgeons I’d seen, so this wasn‘t a red flag. I asked very specific questions during the consultation and he answered confidently and efficiently. I didn’t feel rushed but he only glanced at my chest when I asked about double incision versus periareolar. Some other surgeons really looked and some just peeked so I didn’t think anything of it. He was skeptical about peri so we talked about my goals and I felt good about moving forward with scheduling double incision.

I never got an email to communicate with him directly. I reached out to the office to ask about virtual pre-op and post-op options, and was told they only do one in person post-op for drain removal. The office was great handling my insurance and I was very happy with the management.

On the day of my surgery I brought some reference images and specific requests. The nurse prepping me was very worried and told me several times to make sure I communicated with Dr Ramineni everything I wanted to say. She left when the dr came to my bed.

Ramineni asked if I had anything to ask and I wanted to discuss specifics about what I can expect for my results. He actually looked at my chest this time and reiterated that he would recommend standard double incision over periareolar to avoid definitely needing a revision which insurance doesn’t cover. This was a lie. My insurance does cover revisions and I later found out that Ramineni does keyhole but calls it peri which is why he was so certain I would need a revision.

I agreed to the recommended procedure and showed my reference pictures. He barely looked at them before saying “this is the usual” but allowed me to quickly point out my preference for smaller nipples, scar shape, and placing the scar under my pec. He pointed out on my body where the scar would go and said if it was any lower some areola would be left. I was surprised this wasn’t brought up before and told him my priority is for everything to be as low as possible. He was writing the entire time and I assumed he was jotting down my requests. When I later asked for these notes he said he doesn’t write notes on requests made right before operating.

Ramineni left and the nurse came back and expressed worry about the doctor leaving too quickly. I sent the nurse after him to bring him back but she said he waved her off and confirmed the nipples would be smaller. I’m trying to stay calm at this point as I’m being wheeled into the operating room.

As soon as I’m awake they send me out the door. No tests besides making sure I can drink water. I’m given care instructions and an email for the PA and the doctor. Drain removal a week later takes 5 minutes and is entirely impersonal and frustrating after having to travel for it

I have a few issues during recovery with severe insomnia, nipple graft lifting, and strange redness and scarring spreading from the graft site that I later found out was pretty severe stretch marks. Sending pictures to the PA, I am told there’s nothing that looks concerning but I can come in person if I want to be checked out.

I’m extremely dissatisfied with my results. I asked for smaller nipples than usual and ended up with grafts that are far bigger than the standard 2.5cm. The placement is not at all like my reference photos. My scar cuts across the bottom of my pec. The stretch marks around the grafts that the PA didn’t flag as concerning or suggest any treatment options for when I said they’re getting bigger, deeper, and hurting, have spread and still hurt daily. My incision scars have widened significantly to over 15mm in some places. Overall, I did not feel listened to and do not like what I was given, and I believe my requests were well articulated and reasonable.

I’ve gone in person to Dr Ramineni for my 6-month post-op to ask about revision options. He said “that would look terrible“ when I described wanting to move or refine the nipple grafts. It was a curt conversation where he seemed annoyed that I was asking for revision options at all. In an email several months later where I asked about revision options again, Ramineni refused to discuss revision and insisted that I have a good surgical result despite not having any photos of me post-op. I don’t know how he could possibly remember me or my case.

I’m disappointed that I put my body in the hands of someone who would disregard their client’s wishes and repeatedly say “you don’t want that” in response to specific requests. I asked the office for my clinical notes and there is absolutely nothing written about what I had requested in my consultation or at the morning of surgery. There are lies about what information I was given at my consultation and inaccurate generic notes.

I know that some people here have had excellent experiences with him and that some people were put off by his demeanor. I never found him unfriendly outside of slight annoyance that I was asking for something unexpected. In my experiences Dr Ramineni‘s confidence is not based on what he is actually capable of doing. He will not give personalized results despite agreeing to requests for customization and he will not consider client cases outside of a one-size-fits-all approach despite acting attentive and knowledgeable.

I'm just over a month post op and I still have minimal feeling in my chest and still feel pretty numb in certain areas. How long did it take until your chest felt normal? Did you ever regain sensation?

my gf just helped me clean the wounds and everything else so i just wanted to show yall im 3 days post op :) lmk what you think in terms of everything. is it too swollen? im not in pain and im just taking tylenol and an anti biotic everything as prescribed

I contacted Gustavo around late july 2026. I found an email address online. He was pretty quick to respond, we arranged a FaceTime within a week to discuss my desired outcomes etc. his English is very good. We booked in a date for October 22nd. Make sure you bring a list of questions as that is the only time you speak to him until the surgery. He’s happy for you to WhatsApp any questions though.

Between now and then, I’ve spoken with his team over email to confirm the date and time to come in, pre operative tests etc. they also asked for a copy of my gender dysphoria diagnosis. also I had to pay a €350 deposit a month before the surgery. There are other costs - €50 for a companion to stay, and €140 for your post op binder and vest.

Wednesday 21st - went into the hospital a day before to get my bloods and ECG taken. This was at an extra cost to the surgery, around €50 total. There is a slight language barrier with the staff but they were all lovely and we made it work through translator on phones and some of them spoke a good enough level of English. They took my IDs and processed this on the system while I got my blood test. My partner was allowed in the room with me.

Thursday 22nd - I arrived at 12:30, we sat at reception and paid for everything - remainder of surgery costs, companion stay, blood tests and post op binder. Total costs were €3440.
We were quickly taken to our room, which was so nice, amazing views of Porto and very private, had my own shower, toilet etc. there was a sofa bed for my partner.
I had to scrub down in the shower using a surgical soap, and put on scrubs after. The nurses came in the put a cannnula in my hand, take blood pressure and oxygen levels, and ask me some questions about my weight and height.

Gustavo came to the room about 1:30pm, he took pre op photos and marked up my chest. By 2;30 I was wheeled off to the surgical room. There were a group of staff around me preparing me for surgery, asking me general questions about my day and then they put the mask over me, I took about 5 deep breaths and then all I remember is waking up in a different room, no boobs, in the binder and vest (which is horribly tight). I cried out of happiness when I woke up. It was a beautiful moment, I felt peaceful and just happy it was over with.

About 6:30pm I was wheeled back into the room with my partner. For the rest of the night the nurses would come and check on us every half an hour to an hour. Bringing tea and biscuits. I could also ring a bell if I needed anything, such as more pain killers. The staff were so helpful and Im incredibly grateful to them and Gustavo.

Friday 23rd - last night sleeping was hard in the tight vest and binder. But they gave me lots of medication to help. I woke up to tea and biscuits again, nurses would come in and out to attach my cannula to a new pain medication. I was half asleep a lot of the time and didn’t realise.
Gustavo came in to check on me around 12pm, he loosened the vest a tiny bit as I expressed discomfort. He told me off as I kept using my arms to push myself up on the bed - probably not the best idea. He said the surgery went very well and he was happy with the results.
By 4pm my drains were taken out and I was detached from any equipment, we left the hospital around 5pm.

Today I am 6 days post op. The surgery was the easy part, recovery has been a mental battle. The binder and vest is the worst part, pain is managed well with the medication, so it’s mainly dealing with the discomfort around sleeping in the compression vest & binder.

Days 1-3 were the worst I couldn’t do much on my own and was in pain, by day 5 I messaged Gustavo as my back was in agony, he said I could loosen the compression vest a little bit which has helped. The pain has massively reduced and I keep forgetting to take pain medication as it’s quite mild at this point. I wouldn’t be able to cope or manage well without having my partner here to cook clean & help me do basic things. She’s also helped wash my hair/face as you get so greasy sitting around. I’ve been on a few walks outside, went out for lunch day 5 but at a push, and starting to sleep better now.

The range of motion in my arms is good. I’m not putting my arms above my head but have been practicing mobility and moving them out to the front and sides. I keep feeling tingles / goosebumps all over my chest which is a good sign for your nerves trying to reconnect.

Overall I’m super happy with how things have gone. Just bring lots of things to entertain you while you’re recovering, make sure you have a passion project to get on with, access to Netflix and a comfortable sofa with lots of pillows ( I recommend those neck pillows you get on an airplane ).

Tomorrow I get to see my results finally. I’ll post photos at some point as I found peoples reviews and progress pics extremely helpful. Ask any questions you like!

I got top surgery 4 days ago and I need to take my shot tonight I was stupid and didn’t email my surgeon and ask if I’m good to take my shot tonight did anyone else take there’s a few days after?

gofundme link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-sam-with-top-surgery-travel-and-recovery-costs

hello! I'm sam, and I am physically disabled, neurodivergent, and transmasculine.

i'm beyond overjoyed to share that I've been approved for gender-affirming masculinising surgery (top surgery) for later this year in hull, england, with the team at spire.

unfortunately, i've faced a lot of unexpected and unavoidable costs in my life in general (pet emergencies, ADHD medication titration so I can function without sleeping constantly, and visa costs so I can ensure me and my spouse stay together, meal replacement drinks due to one of my disabilities). due to this I'm in quite a tight financial situation.

I do have funding for the full cost of top surgery. I would deeply, deeply appreciate support with the cost of everything surrounding the surgery:

• Train travel between Scotland and Hull: £300 for myself and my partner
• Two weeks' accommodation near the hospital: £800
• Transport to and from appointments: £100
• Post-operative medical and hygiene supplies: £100
• Adaptive equipment for recovery, including a grabber and wedge pillow: £100

I am tremendously grateful for any form of support - shares, comments, and donations all have my deepest gratitude. thank you so much for reading and for any and all help 💖